The AfterGame
by Tenthlttr
Summary: Neku is sucked back into the game with Shiki, but Joshua makes their stay as... comfortable as possible. Neku x Shiki, of course.
1. Dead, for the Second time in my life

The AfterGame: Chapter 1

Dead, for the second time in my life.

Hey guys!!! So this is my new fic, still pretty P.O.'d about my lack of ability to create a halfway-decent name for my fiction. Sorry but I _might_ not be updating every day. I'll try my best but that daily deadline was ultimately the reason I stopped my previous fic. About halfway through it, I grew a life (Hey, who woulda guessed??) First, a Shout-out to GuyInBlack. Reading your fic is what motivated me to start this new one. Thanks for the support, man! Also, thanks to the 2000+ hits I got for my first fic (W00T!!!!) I hope you guys like my fic!

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Yoshiya 'Joshua' Kiryu stood on top of 104, enjoying his ability as the Composer to go unnoticed. He looked over his city and sighed. _All right, Neku, Shiki, I hope you're ready…_

_Neku's room…_

I lay back onto my bed, frustrated after another long day. Life was even more complicated than before. Sure, I had friends now, but they added even more confusion than they took away. Especially a certain girl. _Shiki…_ When I first met her, I wasn't ready for human contact. Other people only caused pain for me, so it was hard for me to 'trust my partner'. Then, Shiki practically used the jackhammer of her joy and happy-peppy peppyness to smash half of my emotional barriers. Then, of course, she just _had _to reverse the role, finally opening up to _me_ instead of the other way around. Oh, god. If that didn't get me to open my heart, nothing would. So I did, finally letting into the recesses of my consciousness.

That was probably the worst mistake of my life.

Because I was selfish enough to push my blame onto her, she became my entry fee, and I trapped he in Hell for an extra 2 weeks as I battled for both my life and hers.

Then, at the end of the third week, she came back, and found out. Probably the worst possible time, too. We're prepping for the battle that would ultimately decide the fate of Shibuya, _BAM!!!_ Unnecessary complications. And yet… Just knowing that she knew that I held her closest to my heart than anything else in existence sent butterflies free in my stomach. Butterflies attached to miniature sticks of dynamite that would explode after short notice at the worst possible times.

This is poetry, people. POETRY!!!

When I was waiting that fateful day at Hachiko, I was only seeking one thing. My friends. Shibuya? Screw Shibuya. All I wanted, all I _needed, _was to see my friends in the real world, to be able to look at myself in a mirror and not think what a useless waste of space I was, because I knew in my heart that there were _real _people that actually _cared _about me, the real me.

And then I saw Shiki's face.

Honestly, I was blown away by how _Kawaii_ she looked. Her light face, slightly pale due to her many hours spent indoors sewing, had a faint blush, lightly dusting her cheeks in red. Her short brown hair, looking extremely natural, unlike Eri's, hid part of her wide-rimmed glasses, which accented her eyes. Her eyes. That was what got me in the end. I could see Shiki in those eyes. I could see everything about her from those eyes, the shadows of guilt and jealousy, the shine of new hope, and the fear of not being recognized. To be honest, she rocked my world.

And I could feel that she liked me back. Every time she looked at me, her eyes sparkled, and I felt her energy, her aura, emanating from her.

But nothing happened.

Neither of us made a move, and I began to wonder if I was misreading the signs, and she didn't like me after all. We began to grow slightly apart, to my resentment. It got to the point of total awkwardness, where I didn't know how to talk around her, and we stopped talking to each other. It was only because that we were already in a group of people (dubbed by Beat as a 'Gang') that we were together at all. Beat, Rhyme, and Eri were the only ones that kept us together.

Which drove me INSANE. (A/N: Thank you, Kisdota, for inventing this word)

The fact that every moment I think, _right now I could be with Shiki, but I'm NOT. _made me want to steal the Grim Heaper's Megaphone, climb to the top of his tallest trash heap, and shout expletives for the whole of Shibuya to hear. The sheer frustration of it was picking away at my mind, affecting me way more than I thought possible. The feeling stated out small, but it grew into the most horrible thing I had ever experienced, for the longest time. And for me, that's really saying something.

The others sensed our discomfort, they tried to bridge the gap between us, but only succeeded in creating awkward enough situations to make us even more separate. Even Beat began to wonder what had happened to us, and it must have been pretty obvious for _him_ to figure it out. My parents, who had never really cared what happened to me, essentially just went on as usual, leaving me and my problems to work ourselves out.

Even so, I still retained an ounce of will to live. Because I knew that Shiki and I would probably eventually find ourselves together. We needed a miracle. I wasn't keen on dying at all until I was with Shiki.

Which is why I was pretty pissed when Joshua materialized into my room pointing a gun at my head.

I stared at him, frozen in place. _Move , Neku! MOVE!!!!_

Joshua slowly cocked his gun, eyeing me with satisfaction. "Goodbye, Neku."

_BANG!_

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And that's it! I hope you guys found this okay, please give me constructive criticism. I NEED it. I'm already aware that my characters are really OOC, but making a decent romance fic with Neku's personality requires a level of finesse that I have not yet acquired. So anyways, R&R as always!!!


	2. Waking up in Hell, or is it?

Chapter 2: Waking up in Hell (Or is it?)

Alright, guys! Here it is, the 2nd chapter of my fic!!! I recently took up an online game (Mabinogi) and I love it!!! I don't really like fighting, but I still play just to play music. It's a really awesome game!!! If any of you play it, tell me your username and we'll be friends…

So anyways, thanks to GuyInBlack for giving me the author's note advice… Sorry man, I just owed Kisdota bigtime for his support from day one… okay, let's do this!

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_I stared at him, frozen in place. Move , Neku! MOVE!!!!_

_Joshua slowly cocked his gun, eyeing me with satisfaction. "Goodbye, Neku."_

_BANG!_

……

The world around me disappeared, melting away until I was surrounded in darkness. I heard the sound of the gun reverberating through my head, echoing away. I felt as if I were floating. _Is this what it's like to be dead??? Last time was so long ago…_ This time, though, I knew what was coming, and hated every moment of it. Slowly, but slowly getting faster, I felt myself returning to my body, as the silence slowly changed into voices, the incoherent melody of thousands of people chatting at the same time… I had heard this before, the voices. I opened my eyes before I realized they were closed, and stared at the cold, hard concrete of Scramble, an acrid taste in my mouth. _Blood._ I spat it out and felt around in my pocket for my pins, all without a word. I guess that I had been in the Game long enough to know that angst came _after_ finding a Partner. I looked around, and saw no one else with a Player pin. _Hachiko, then._ I half walked, half ran to the dog statue, trying to keep my cool as I scurried to a partner before the Noise found me. I had just about reached the statue, still scanning the crowd for anyone wearing a player pin.

"Neku!!!" I turned around, eyebrows raised. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Shiki?" I saw Shiki sprinting towards me, smiling with joy, and my face nearly broke out into a smile. _Oops, gotta be more careful…_

Shiki kept running, Mr. Mew in tow. Wait. Something seemed kinda strange… I was trying to figure it our when she stumbled and tackled me, knocking us both to the ground. My head hit the ground hard, making me see stars, but that couldn't distract me from one very important fact. Shiki was _right on top of me!_ I reacted quickly, awkwardly breaking away from her before my nether regions could betray me as the hormone-crazed teen I really was. I blushed and helped her up, until I realized that she could see me. That meant one thing. _She was dead, too._ Once she had gotten up, I grabbed her by the shoulders, almost frantic out of worry.

"You _died?_ How, what happened?" I felt rage, both icy cold and burning hot, pour into my system. _When I find out who did this to her…_

Shiki turned serious. "That composer kid, Joshua, right? He came into my room last night and I think he shot me…"

I felt my jaw tighten. "Same thing happened to me. What's that kid plotting…?"

"Oh, yeah!" Shiki seemed to remember something. "Will you form a pact with me?"

I tried to stop it, but a small smile crept into my face. "You know it."

Instantly, I felt the warm light envelope me, and I began to rise over the ground.

Just as quickly, it stopped, ushering me back to the ground almost urgently.

I looked at her. "Okay, Shiki. I don't know what this is about, but I'm going to tell you one thing- No matter what, I'm going to get us both back out of here alive."

Shiki nodded, somber, but then smiled. I realized what I was puzzled about; Shiki had retained her body, so she looked like she did in real life. I didn't seem to have lost anything, either."Just like old times, huh, Neku?"

I nodded. "Yeah. But Joshua's gotta be up to something… For now, let's grab a bite to eat. Dying really takes it outta you."

Shiki nodded, and we walked into the nearby Sunshine burgers. I was great friends with the cashier, so it was no problem getting tatsumi burgers for both of us.

We walked outside together, waiting for the telltale ring that would mark our first mission together. Suddenly I heard my ringtone, and I whipped out my cell phone to read the text.

_Hello Neku, Shiki, I see you've already bonded. That's good. First, you should know that this isn't an actual Game. Your lives _will_ be threatened, but you can handle that, right? Also, no entry fees have been taken. Think of this more as a… reward for Neku, like an After-game Party. Lucky for the other players, they will partake in this.. AfterGame as well. Don't worry, you'll see what I mean after today. Also, Neku… Don't think Uncle Joshua's forgotten about you. Trust me, by the end of this week you'll be thanking me. _

_Sincerely,_

_Your pal Joshua._

I turned to Shiki, who was still reading the note. She soon finished and looked up. "Hmm. I wonder what he means by an 'AfterGame'."

I was about to respond, but was interrupted by another text message.

_Today's mission:_

_Objective 1: Take out the… special… noise on top of 104. Extra clothing optional_

_You have 60 minutes. Fail and face erasure. Complete in 30 minutes to have the rest of the day off. _

I raised an eyebrow. "A day off? This is new… And what does he mean by 'Extra clothes optional'?"

Shiki shrugged. "I dunno, but that day off would be pretty cool."

"All right, Ten-Four it is!" Shiki announced before noticing my retreating figure.

"Neku!!! God, you never change!"

But I did. Never before would I have been caught smiling under my collar at the girl of my dreams.

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All right that's it! From my viewpoint after just finishing it, it doesn't seem very strong.

Chapters are slow because

I'm a slow guy

I have a _life_

If I go through a day a chapter, then there would only be 8 chapters. I'm stretching the storyline out.

Because I can never think of fourth reasons.

Okay, Later!!! Don't forget to R&R!!!


	3. The 'Special' Noise

Chapter 2: The 'special' noise.

Okay, guys;

This is mostly a chapter to test out my ability to write a fight scene, but I think the twist to this battle will satisfy your inner ecchi. I'm going to try and make this as good as possible without having to change it to M (making it one of the first NekuxShiki fics to this date. Come on, people! You can't just rely on a 13-year-old perv for lemons!!!)

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4 imprints, 2 barriers, and 5 Reaper Creepers later, Shiki and I had managed to get to the top of 104, clothes not included.

"20 minutes on the clock," Shiki remarked. "I wonder when the Noise will app-"

"Look out!!!" I grabbed Shiki and pushed her away, just in time to get hit by a glob of goop. I tried to shake the sickly, transparent gloop of my arm, but it just stick there and _began melting off my sleeve._ I was glad that I was happening to wear some Mus Rattus gear, but it still pissed me off. Then I realized, with a blush, why we were assigned to kill this noise.

_We should have gotten the extra clothes._

"Don't let it hit you, Shiki!" I was blushing. _If Shiki gets hit…_

Shiki had already whipped out Mr. Mew and it was attacking the noise, something that seemed like a BigBanFrog but was about 3x as huge. She was doing pretty well in dodging the beast's 'attacks', and I decided to join in. I ran towards the beast, whipping out several of my close range pins into a combo mastered in the past three weeks. I lunged at the frog with a yell, rapidly slashing at it with my Shockwave. Almost immediately, I followed up with two rapid ice pillars , knocking it into the air, and before it got too far, I jumped up and hit it with two Vulcan Uppercuts, knocking it almost 30 feet above the ground. _Now for the fun part… _

"Think fast, Shiki!" Shiki knew what to do, we had mastered this combo a long time ago.

I used my Lightning anger, my vortex saber, to send the frog flying towards Shiki. Shiki sent Mr. Mew up into the air, keeping it airborne where it couldn't bother us. I floated back to the ground, preparing our finisher, grinning with anticipation. _Life-threatening or not, Noise-battling has got to be the world's greatest rush._

Mr. Mew knocked the frog out of the air with an insane kick, sending it flying to the ground at a speed that made it seem a blur. Right after it got hit, though, It spurted one more projectile, but I couldn't worry about that. I waited for the perfect height and launched one more ice pillar, impaling the frog as it literally smashed through the ice pillar, skewered at super-sonic speeds. _It never stood a chance._

I turned to Shiki, smiling. "And with 5 minutes to…" My voice trailed off as I realized that the frog's last attack had nailed her in the chest, melting her shirt and shorts, leaving her with… there was only one thing brighter than my blush: Shiki's. I closed my eyes. "Sorry, Shiki."

"I-It's okay. J-Just don't look, okay?"

"Here." Still with my eyes shut, I took off my shirt and handed it to Shiki. Use this.

"Thanks." Shiki hastily pulled my shirt over her… undergarments and told me to open my eyes. "Well, at least no one can see us, right?"

I nodded. My blush had no intention of leaving.

Shiki stopped talking and began to notice something more interesting, my barely concealed chest. Luckily, I was wearing an undershirt, but some of it had burned off in the battle. I cleared my throat, and she jumped, blushing. "Erm, sorry. I w-was just-"

I stopped her and walked away, trying to rid my face of the blush and my hormones to stop going crazy over seeing a girl… like that.

"Let's go get some clothes."

_Shiki's Point of View…_

Battling the Noise with Neku seemed the same as usual, taking me back to old times. Though Neku would never admit it, he always looked a lot more free and happy while he was battling Noise. It was like fighting was the only was to let loose for him. The pins must be pretty fun for him, too.

But after the fight, he was kind enough to not force me to walk the streets of Shibuya, invisible or no, nearly naked. Neku could actually be a bit of a gentleman at times. And that _chest!_ I shook my head, my blush rising up again. That Neku was pretty ripped, who would've guessed? The frog had burned off enough of his undershirt for his rock-solid abs to show, though he frequently turned away from me out of embarrassment.

Neku… I wish I could get into his orange head, find out his feelings. I was intrigued when I first met him, he seemed like a loner, but he eventually opened up, after I spilled everything to him. There's still so much I don't know about him…

If there's one thing about Neku that I can't figure out, it's why I actually found myself liking him more than a friend. He was the first guy that actually found _Me _interesting, not just because I was friends with Eri.

Did he like me back? I was his entry fee, I guess that meant I was his most important thing, but after we got back… nothing. He didn't ask me out, I tried to ask him, but I couldn't. I was getting really frustrated, ever Eri noticed. But Neku… I think he wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with him.

_The end of the day, Neku's POV…_

I looked over at Shiki, who was licking a cone of Sunshine's soft serve. I really wasn't feeling myself. This entire day felt like a dream, like nothing that happened here mattered because it wasn't real. I seemed far removed from my common sense, and thus felt really, stupidly brave. A small smile graced my countenance as I inched a bit closer to her, putting caution aside. Shiki scooted right next to me, apparently feeling the same way as I was, and snuggled against me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and opened my mouth.

"Shiki?"

"Yeah?"

"I really like you…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAnd that's it! Looking back, I don't think the chapter was as good as it could be. Advice wanted! Please? I especially need some tips for my fight scenes. (I'm looking at _you_, GuyInBlack!) P.S. If you want to know where I ripped the clothes-eating frog idea from, watch To Love-Ru, an excellent anime, and the ecchi-est of ecchi.

Peace out, Y'All!!!


	4. The 2nd day

Chapter 4: the 2nd day (couldn't come up with anything good)

Hey guys!!! As soon as I posted that last chapter I realized how forced the love had become. So… I'm going to fix it!!! How, you ask? You'll find out… P.S., I'm going to try to incorporate some more fighting into this fic (mainly because there are so many battling ideas that I couldn't use in the actual game), while still retaining its romance. What do you guys think? I just want to work on fight choreography but if you don't think that would work just tell me…

P.S. I just started reading Impulse by Ellen Hopkins, for a book report that I really should be doing right now. I made it about a fourth of the way through, and I think it's great!

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Joshua turned his Composer-enhanced hearing to the couple. "Shiki, I like you…"

Joshua tsked and shook his head. "Not yet, Neku. Can't have that. Sorry, the romance will have to wait…"

Joshua held his hand out to the two. A white mist floated slowly from his fingertips and engulfed Neku and Shiki. They fell asleep and soon disappeared, whisked away to their next day's starting location.

Joshua flexed his fingers. "Mind-wipe successful. Good luck on tomorrow, Neku…"

_The next day… Neku's POV…_

I awoke the next morning with the feeling that I had forgotten something important. I looked over at Shiki, still sound asleep a couple of feet over, and got up. We were in the middle of A-East, right outside the concert stage. _What did I forget? _All I remember yesterday was beating the frog noise with Shiki, and then getting her and me some new clothes. After that… I shook my head, hoping that whatever I missed wasn't important.

I heard Shiki waking up behind me and turned around. "Hey, Shiki. You get the feeling you've forgotten something important?"

Shiki stood up. "Yeah… I wonder what it is…"

Shiki then stood still for some time, trying to get past the wall that was in both of our minds. "Hmm…"

She was interrupted by the pain erupting from our hands. "Urgh… let's check the mission."

_Find and answer the riddle hidden in the Shibuya theme park. Hint: Follow the love, and the path will become clear. You have 360 minutes._

_Fail, and face erasure._

I read through the text one more time, looking for any hidden clues. This mission seemed pretty straightforward, but you could never be too careful. "There's a theme park in Shibuya?" Amazing how a born-and-bred Shibuya teen could remain so oblivious of his hometown.

"Yeah, it just opened up, actually." Shiki was a life saver in these kinds of situations. "I was going to invite y- the gang to come together." She blushed at the near slip, but I pretended not to hear it.

"All right, I guess the first step's to get there. Where is it?"

"You can get there from the West Exit Bus Terminal." (A/N: right between Shibuya River and Hachiko)

"Okay, let's go!" We ran over to the park, as I clipped on some new pins. I wanted to max out all of my pins in case I needed them… plus, I could sell them for a lot more cash if they evolved (TWEWY fans, let this be a lesson to you). I decided to go for a couple of Noise pins, Wolf and Raven, as well as force rounds and a massive hit pin from Wild Boar. I kept Shockwave on, partly because it was practical overall and partly because I wanted to stay loyal to my favorite brand, Jupiter of the Monkey. To the last slot I endowed my Splish Splash Barrier from Sheep Heavenly. Terrible brand, awesome pin.

Eventually, we came to the first barrier, trying to get past Hachiko to the west exit bus terminal. "Beat two of this area's biggest noise… Where I can see you."

Shiki and I nodded at each other and I opened my mind, letting my consciousness expand outwards in a sea of Blue. In my mind's eye, I spotted two markings, and I willed them both towards me. We could handle a chain battle, especially with my barrier.

Shiki and I were instantly transported to the battlefield. I grinned in the blue light, anticipating the coming battles.

We were suddenly surrounded by grunge wolves, as well as a few BigBanFrogs and some ravens. Shiki was on the other side of the battlefield, and I grinned. _No friendly fire, so it's time to go all out!_ I touched the Massive hit, Shockwave, and Wolf Pins; I had learned to use them all at once the day after Joshua revealed his 'Super Jesus Beams', as Beat had called them. I blazed through the grunge wolves, slashing with my gigantic sword and taking out a couple of the wolves, leaving about 6 more and a couple more frogs and ravens. I felt the green energy leave me and travel towards Shiki. "Get ready, Shiki!"

Shiki intercepted the puck in midair, then literally threw Mr. Mew at a frog. Mr. Mew started whaling away at the frog, Shiki commanding it as it did so. She was completely oblivious at the Frog noise hopping towards her from behind! I jumped up into the air and, just as the light transported from Shiki to me, I used my Raven Psyche to bring a bicycle up into the air, holding me up as I poured force rounds into the frog. The frog quickly disappeared, and Shiki shot me a quick grin of gratitude as our fusion meter hit 5, giving us level one. I felt the pin appear on my side, but hesitated to use it.

'Wait', I mouthed to Shiki, who nodded in understanding.

I suddenly got an idea, grinning. As soon as the puck returned to me, I activated my Massive hit and Shockwave, and used my Raven Psyche to ram through the mass of land-born Noise, Sword in one hand and claw in the other. Whoever managed to avoid becoming roadkill by the bike were either knocked out by the Massive Hit or the Shockwave. I grinned. _Too easy._ Suddenly, I stopped controlling the bike and fell to the ground, sustaining some serious damage. To make matters worse, most of the wolves and frogs pounced on me, tearing into me as I tried to reach my belt. One wolf bit my arm, making me wince as I felt myself at my limit. I couldn't end it like this…

I found the strength to touch my Splish Slash Barrier, then sighed in relief as the cooling water mended my wounds, literally sewing my skin back together. I saw Shiki perform another finisher, gaining us another 2 points. She quickly followed up with another 2, netting us 9 total fusion points. As I felt the Pin nearing its end, I touched my wolf pin, breaking out of the barrier and the throng of noise trying to get past it. I found a car and began to twirl it, sweeping the entire noise into a corner of the battlefield before they could react. I immediately ran back over, my wolf pin giving me excellent speed, and used my Massive hit pin to finish the lot of them. I walked back to Shiki, mouth open in awe.

"You really missed this, haven't you, Neku?"

I shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah… I guess…"

Shiki was about to reply, probably some words of comfort, but stopped. The second chain was starting. We nodded at each other and were whisked into the next reduction.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAnd that's it, folks! Hah! Joshua Super Jesus magic is the answer to all my bad writing problems! Expect to see him later, after a particularly bad chapter, to patch things up.

Anyways, sorry I had to split the battle in half like that. Halfway through the battle, I realized that I had already exceeded not only the quota, but the maximum amount of words I've written for a single chapter, period. So yeah, expect to see this continue in the next chapter. Action fics are fun!!!


	5. The Theme Park

Chapter 5: The Theme Park…

Man, I'm pretty bad at this chapter naming thing… but I started, so I guess it wouldn't be cool to stop. Anyway, I'll try to get more done in this chapter… Yesterday I kinda failed at the whole 'word regulating' thing… Oh, well… Let's finish this up.

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As we landed on the new field, I studied the Noise spawning around us.

"Oh, Crap!!!" Facing us was quite possibly the most frightening Noise entourage we had ever encountered.

At the other end of the field were 3 rhinos, stomping the ground in anticipation. Between them and us were approximately 20 assorted ground noise, but that wasn't what frightened me the most. A fusion shark was rapidly swimming towards the Noise, and swallowed the entire group, rhino's and all! The Shark, bursting with raw power, grew to the size of a bus and started swimming towards us. Fast.

Shiki was great at keeping her cool in the worst of situations. "Neku! Distract him while I rack up some fusion points!!! It's the only way to survive!"

I nodded and ran at the Shark with Wolf-like speed. Touching both Raven and Massive Hit, I picked up a car with my mind, enlarged it to the size of a house, and flung it at the Shark. _Take that!_

The Shark simply batted the car back at me with it's tail, a huge car rocketing towards me at the speed of a plane. I had just enough time to activate my aqua barrier when it rammed into me, sending my protected body flying into the air.

I was strangely calm as I rocketed skyward, far above the shark. I combined Force rounds and Wolf, Shooting lightning fast round at the Shark that began to sprout meteor-like qualities. The rounds got larger as I used Massive hit.

The Shark still seemed to be unfazed, but I kept going, knowing that it would have to go down eventually. Same with me. As I felt myself beginning to fall, I used my aqua barrier, Shockwave, and Wolf psyches to begin rocketing downwards to the Shark, the barrier beginning to pulse as the Shockwave coupled with the speed of Wolf creating a flame around me that was unfazed by the aqua barrier. I used Raven to force myself to go a little faster, as I felt Shiki get the maximum fusion Level. The Shark suddenly turned to me, and realized the coming danger. It opened its mouth to roar at me.

Bad move.

I crashed down his throat, causing him to emit a strange choking sound as the barrier wore off, forcing me to begin sliding down his stomach. I grinned and, before I fell prey to his stomach acid, I touched the fusion pin and warped out of there, double-time.

"Come on, Mr. Mew!" Shiki grinned at me as I warped next to her.

"Go get 'em, Piggy!"Shiki would probably get me later for that, but I didn't care. As Mr. Mew began to grow to epic proportions, We hopped on his shoulder, getting a great view as he shot two focused beams into the Shark, causing him to fade into the TV-snow Silhouette of itself, before disappearing completely. Shiki and I exchanged a high-five. "That's how it's done."

We warped back to the Reaper, watching the battle with interest. "Wow…"

"Wow? Dude, that was tight!!!" Another Reaper, this one in a black hoodie and red mask, warped beside the red-clad one. He was putting a video camera in his pocket. "Totally F-ing amazing! You guys take this. It'll let Spiky here equip 2 more pins at a time, and be able to fuse more than three psyches. Good luck, dudes!"

The Black Reaper walked away, mumbling to himself. "And when he crashed through sharky's mouth, brilliant! And the time when…"

I raised an eyebrow, looking at the sticker the reaper gave me. "Well, it's nice to have fans."

The reaper raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you can pass." He gave me a scarletite and left.

We made it to the park without any more interruptions.

"…Wow…" I hadn't realized how big the park was until I got there. There were many stands, selling various accessories, lining the sides. There were also quite a lot of rides, such as a roller coaster, ferris wheel, bumper cars, a tunnel of love ride, and more.

_Wait… Tunnel of love? _I thought back to the text message. _Hint: Follow the love…_ "Shiki, we need to go ride the tunnel of love!"

Shiki turned red. "Y-You and m-me? W-What are you talking about"

I blushed as I realized what said. I turned away from her so she couldn't see my reddening face. "N-No, the mission! It said, _follow the love."_

Shiki was still flushed. "O-oh. Okay then, can we check out the accessory shops first? I mean, we've got a lot of time."

I sighed. "Sure, but don't take too long. I'll be waiting back here."

I walked away, trying to get away, but Shiki grabbed my sleeve, tugging me with her. "Oh, no you don't! You're coming with me!"

"But Shiki!" I sighed as Shiki dragged me along to a Sheep heavenly shop. _Some things never change…_

Shiki spent a good 30 minutes going from shop to shop, getting all the accessories I was willing to pay for. _I feel like her dad, or her boyfr-_. I blushed.

Shiki eventually settled on some earrings, a ring, and a hat. I bought some pins that I thought might be useful, and I added fire barrier and ice pillar to my repertoire. I also replaced my shockwave pin with a lightning arrester, exchanging brand goodness for practicality.

"All right, that's enough." I took Shiki's hand as we walked out of the store. "We've wasted half an hour already."

"Wait, Neku! Come on, just one more shop! Please?"

I turned to her. "Are you really willing to lose your life just because you went _Shopping?" _

Shiki pouted. "Fine."

And so, turning away from each other the entire time, we slowly entered the tunnel of love.

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And there it is, folks! I'm getting this chapter out of my way early because I have a birthday party of questionable return times. I might be back really late, so here you are. Didn't get as much done as I'd have liked to. Oh, well. That just means a longer fic overall, right?


	6. The Tunnel of love

Chapter 6: The tunnel of love…

Hey guys, really sorry about the day's delay… I had some really important stuff to do. What, you ask? (flips through notebook filled with excuses…) Umm… okay, I was slacking off on Mars where I don't have an internet connection. WTF? Oh, well. Randomness aside, I was just reading manga till late at night (You CAN be a Hindu Otaku!!!! My father was wrong!) and completely forgot about the fic. Won't happen again!!! Then again…

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Shiki and I entered the tunnel of love, our eyes everywhere but each other as I hoped my blush wasn't showing. The carnival sounds faded away, a silence descending on us that made the situation twice as uncomfortable. To lessen the awkwardness, I asked, "So.. what do you think the mission's about?"

Shiki jumped, as if coming out of a trance. "Huh? Oh… I dunno, it says something about a riddle, right? I guess we have to solve the riddle."

"But where's the riddle? That's what we need to know."

Suddenly, pink heart lights illuminated around us, just the luminosity to see each other as we floated on down the ride. I sneaked a peek at Shiki's eyes, and flushed faintly as she chose the same moment to look at me. Using up the rest of my courage, I held eye contact, and Shiki did the same, scooting towards me as we crossed the boat, our bodies touching. Shiki closed her eyes, expecting…

I jolted back, finally realizing what we had come so close to doing. I had no idea what to feel bad of- getting so close to Shiki, or leaving her hanging like that. Shiki opened her eyes and went back as well, embarrassment crossing her face in the form of redness.

"A-Any clues?" I tried to change the subject. _Baka! Baka, Baka, Baka! _I inwardly cursed myself.

"U-Um, no, I think we should- Hey! Look over there!"

My head swiveled towards the direction her fingers pointing, saw the writing on the wall that looked so much like graffiti. I jumped off the side of the boat onto the concealed edge, and helped Shiki out like the gentleman I was.

Shiki grinned. "I think this is it! Um… what now?"

I shrugged. "I guess that we should find the answer to the riddle." I got a closer look, actually read the letters.

_What can be given, but not taken? Silent nights, no need for gratitude,_

_Locking hearts together forever,_

_Sealing love in a cage of fortitude_

Shiki was puzzled. "Huh?" Not knowing the red plastered across my face.

"I got it…" I was hiding my blushing face into my collar with a varying degree of success.

"Really? What is it?" Shiki was _way_ too oblivious.

I was finding it hard to spill the words out. My lips seemed to turn to mush after I finally said the dreaded words.

"A Kiss."

Shiki's face ran all the way across the spectrum. The surprise faded into disbelief, which melted into pale realization, which was substituted by the burning blush of embarrassment. "Y-you mean… me… and you..? To…."

I was blushing too. "I'm going to kill that Joshua…"

Shiki suddenly sat up straight, embarrassment forgotten. "You mean, you don't want to kiss me?"

"What? No! I-It's just that… I mean…"

Shiki looked at me with an unreadable face. Hurt? Anger? Relief? I could find no clue from her stony countenance. I paled as I realized the predicament I was in. If I lied and told her that I didn't want to kiss her, then she would probably hate me forever, not to mention the whole erasure thing. If I came clean and told her that I wanted to kiss her, she'd probably shun me, and I'd most likely lose the will to live.

I tried to think of a way to get out of this situation alive. I found one and grinned inwardly, at the same time trying to shoot down all the butterflies in my stomach.

Shiki was still staring at me, hurt misting over in her eyes. "Neku, I-"

She was interrupted as I crushed her lips to mine, hugging her closer to me as I waited. Shiki was surprised at first, but her shock was gone as I licked her lips, earning a moan as she opened her mouth and melted into my embrace. I used the opportunity to slide my tongue into her mouth, the hot breath coming into my maw almost making me faint out of pleasure. I rubbed her tongue with mine, causing her to moan again and clutch my hair, her fingers surrounded in my orange spikes as she angled me to better stick her tongue down my throat. In return, I held her even closer, exploring the inner reaches of her mouth in the quest to lick everything there as fast as possible. Shiki was just as hungry as I was, softly touching the roof of my mouth, making me go crazy, kissing her even deeper. She finally decided to give me what I was waiting for, kissing me as passionately as I did to her.

We eventually broke the kiss, and I sighed after my first breath of air in over 30 seconds, though it felt like an eternity. I hardly noticed the ticking timer on my hand disappear as I held out my hand to her. "Come on, let's get out of here."

The moment I said that, I felt the instant drowsiness come over me, but this time I didn't fight it, I just let myself slowly give into it. _Best mission…ever…_

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All right, hope you enjoyed it!

My rendition of the infamous 'tunnel of love', is a bit warped, considering I've never been in one myself.

Oh, well. Read and Review, People! Believe it or not, I really care about your thoughts!


	7. The 3rd day

Chapter 7: Day Three

Hey, guys! I have nooooo idea what to write today; I usually spend my school day thinking about it, but today I actually paid attention, leaving me no choice but to wing it today. Anyway, I'm coming back to my TWEWY copy to finish the secret reports, and I gotta say. "Thank god for Sephirosuy!!!" His walkthrough is helping me _so _much! Personally, I don't think that it's cheating, since it's only saving me time otherwise used for checking every nook and cranny for those elusive Boss Noise and Secrets.

Actually, I'm changing the secondary element in this fic from humor to action. You'll see why…

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I woke up, bleary-eyed from a good night's sleep. I opened them, blinking out the early morning moisture, and tried to get up. In my half-awake stupor, not really using my vision, I realized that my hands were locked in place by something warm. I fully opened my eyes--- and jumped out of embarrassment. My arms were entwined with Shiki's, probably the aftereffects of a long night together. Damn that Joshua…

Carefully, so as not to wake her up and double my embarrassment, I slipped my arms out of her grasp and walked out of what seemed to be Cat Street, on the on the balcony above WildKat.

I heard my ring tone, 'twister', resonating out through the air. '_That part is yet unkno-' _

I flipped it open to see the new text message.

_Fend off the noise at Cat street for 3 hours. _

_Fail, and face erasure._

I snorted at the poor word choice. If we failed, wouldn't we already be erased? Shiki came up behind me, rubbing her eyes. "Mornin', Neku."

"Morning, Shiki. Get a good night's sleep?" I blushed slightly as I remembered the position we woke up in.

Shiki didn't notice my embarrassment, or pretended not to. "Yeah, I- Oh, god." She looked at my face, her scrutinizing glare causing me to feel self-conscious.

"What?"

"Yesterday on the ride…" Shiki began to blush.

"Er… Yeah."

"Did we really..?"

"Uh-huh."

I gulped. "I didn't hate it, Shiki."

She looked up, just in time to meet my lips as they slowly brushed against hers.

She blushed, and I felt the butterflies running amok in my stomach. I had never realized it before, but Shiki was really Kawaii!

Shiki bit her lip, then seemed to come to a decision on something. She went up to me, closed her eyes, and leaned towards me. I was happy to oblige.

Two minutes later, we broke out of the serious make-out session that had followed. Was still a bit out of breath, and so was Shiki. When she realized what she did she blushed, and so did I. It was a happy blush, though, as I knew her feelings about me now. She wouldn't have kissed me if she didn't like me at least a bit, right?

Shiki tried to change the subject after we had gotten our heart rates back to the ball park of 'normal'. "So, did we get the mission?"

I nodded and she checked her cell phone, reading over the mission. "All right, so all we gotta do is survive the Noise? Easy."

I turned serious. "You mean you can't feel it? Everyone else is waking up here, too. This a group mission, it's going to be huge."

Shiki noticed the hairs on the back of her neck prickling and looked around, seeing the other players waking up. I was reminded of Sota and Nao, my heart panging. Besides Beat and Rhyme, they were the only other players I befriended. When things were going so well, they were erased, and it was all my fault! If I had just saved them a bit sooner, got Sota to Mr. H…

"Hey, wassup?"

I noticed a kid coming up to us. Blonde, tanned, seemed like the 'natural leader' type. I nodded to myself. This guy would either be a huge help of a huge pain in the ass. "Hey."

"The name's Dustin."

"Shiki, and this is Neku." Shiki was looking at him suspiciously.

Seems like we should work together today. I was thinking…"

My eyes flashed. "Sorry, Dustin. I prefer to work alone."

His eye twitched. "Hey, you could at least listen!"

I growled, but Shiki stopped me and went for the diplomatic resolution. "All right, what's your plan? Sorry about Neku. He's more used to working alone."

I scowled. I hated people talking about me as if I weren't there. "All right, I was thinking that we'd form a semicircle around WildKat. The Noise will have a harder time sneaking up to us."

I looked into Shiki's eyes as she looked in mine. I was telling her this was bull. She was telling me to give it a try.

I sighed. "Look, I'd like to help, but I'd be more used to you out on my own. I have quite a few puns at my disposal and I don't want to hurt anyone else."

Dustin backed off, then looked to Shiki. Her answer was definite. "I'll join."

When I looked at her in surprise, she told me, "Look, I'd be better with Mr. Mew if we were protected by others. Faster fusions mean better survival ratio. Besides, you can really let loose if you're all alone."

I shrugged. "All right, but I'd rather have you next to me. "

Shiki blushed, and Dustin looked between us. "All right, Neku… Shiki. Stay near the entrance of WildKat. I'll get the others."

_What others? _I was about to ask as I jumped off the balcony.

The words died in my throat.

Standing with us were about 30 other players, more than I had ever seen at one time. _Must be the low-risk missions we've been getting. _

Dustin seemed to be in total leader mode. "All right, long range users, get in the back of the border. We'll have the close range people up front. Anyone who has a pyrokinesis or Raven Psyche, get over there! Raven users should fling cars to the noise and pyros light them on fire! Healers, get next to the doors. If your injured, go to them!"

I had to admit, his ideas were pretty good. I mean, _Exploding cars?_ Color me surprised.

Still, I had some crowd-control tricks up my sleeves.

Before the battle, I headed into WildKat. I had someone I needed to talk to.

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And there it is! The beginnings of a very epic battle. Seriously, it might take up at least a couple of chapters. Anyways, for people who don't know what 'Kawaii' means, it means cute.


	8. The battle of Cat Street

The AfterGame Chapter 8: The Battle of Cat Street

Hey, guys! I can't wait for summer to come! Most Likely, it'll mean lots more time for this story, so I can start having longer chapters. I'm trying to make this fiction go as long as possible because the fic will be over when Neku and Shiki get out of the game (except maybe for an epilogue). So I'm stretching out the chapters. I've finally decided to get an Xbox 360!!! Mostly because the DSi is kind of lame (No gameboy slot??? Nintendo, what were you thinking??) and I've wanted to get Halo 3 for a while now. Oh yeah, for anyone who noticed, I stole the flaming car thing from that one Xmen movie, I forget which one. (You know, the one with that guy, and… yeah.)

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I opened the doors to WildKat, feeling the sharp smell of coffee crawl up my nose. Mr. Hanekoma grinned as I walked in.

"Hey, boss! You havin' the usual?"

"Yeah, but give me some more caffeine. I think I'm gonna need it."

Mr. H's grin faded. "You ready for the mission?"

"Hope so. I'm going to protect the other players." I tried to find a better way to ask him, and failed. "Can you send Josh a message from me?"

Mr H cocked an eyebrow. "Depends on the message."

"Tell him that if he doesn't give every surviving player a their lives back, I will personally see to it that he never sees the light of day again."

He smiled. "Sure think, boss. You want any sugar with that?"

"You know what I like."

I downed my coffee and got off my seat. I flipped him 500 yen over my shoulder. "Oh yeah. Mr. Hanekoma?"

"Yeah?"

"Might wanna call your insurance company. The battle could get pretty serious."

Mr. H nodded. "Sure thing, Phones."

_(At the battlefield, 2 minutes later…)_

I positioned myself as far away from everyone else as possible, trying to avoid anyone getting hurt with my psyche combos. As such, I'm the one who saw the Noise coming first. "Heads up, guys!" I called over my shoulder. "They're coming!!"

With that, I used my Raven Pin to bring up a vending machine from the side of the road up, using Wolf to summon the energy to jump on it. I then sped toward the incoming Noise, getting my next pins ready.

As I met the Noise, I was shocked by the staggering amount of monsters stampeding towards me as I stood on the machine 40 feet in the air. Literally an army, the number of Noise was in the hundreds. Ravens, Rhinos, Drakes… you name it, they had it. I decided to focus on the huge Raven bosses (I never could remember their name, only referring to them as 'those annoying raven bosses'. There were about 10 of them, all flying towards me with a fleet of Ravens in tow. I readied my pins and waited for them to come closer. When the first boss was about to attack, I activated my Fire Barrier and massive hit, creating a huge ball of flame, the size of a blimp, expanded around me, burning the ravens into submission. The barrier, exhausted after being utilized for such a wide range, dissolved into the air, and I felt the Raven pin running out of energy as well.

I used the last burst of energy from the pin to literally fling me up into the air, as I used a combination of wolf and aqua barrier to land myself safely onto a building. I felt a level one Fusion pin appear on my belt, and saw that the others were already engaged with the enemy. If I didn't act fast, they would be overwhelmed. I thought back to Dustin's exploding car idea and grinned. Looking around, I spotted a small car on the side of the road, one of those American 'smart cars'. The raven-users probably overlooked it due to its size. _If only they knew…_

Using Raven, I lifted the car to my height, over 60 feet from the ground, as I felt Shiki get Level 2. Wow, she was right. She was getting Fusion like crazy thanks to the protection of the group. I used Massive Hit to make the car grow to epic proportions, even larger then when I fought the Shark.

When the Massive hit pin was depleted, the car was about the size of a 2-story house. I ran down the building using Wolf, keeping the car levitated, and barreled through the noise to the ragtag group of players. Red-Faced with exertion, I ran to up to the balcony and yelled, "Pyros, listen up! I'm going to drop that car onto the Noise, you know what to do!!!"

The pyrokinesis users all nodded, getting ready to fire at the car. Dustin ran up behind me and grabbed my shoulder, almost making me drop the car. "Watch it, are you trying to get us all killed?" I hissed. Holding up the car was hard enough for me.

"Are you?" He hissed back. "The explosion'll knock us all out of the world, too!"

"Trust me. I'll protect you guys!" I grinned as I felt the level 2 pin change to level 3. _That's my cue… _

I used the last of my energy to hurl the car down to the ground. "NOW!!!!" I screamed.

All the Pyrokinesis users flamed the car, making it grow red-hot as it careened towards the ground. I closed my eyes, knowing the next part would be tricky.

As the car smashed into the ground, destroying a large group of Noise, I was strangely calm. Even as the flames took their toll, causing the gas tank to explode, I felt not a thing. The world seemed to slow down, letting me see the blast… coming towards us at blazing fast speeds. The Noise were eradicated, leaving us with either victory… or a fiery defeat.

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Curse that Neku… thanks to his being so badass, the chapter-wide battle was over in a heartbeat! Grr…

So anyways, keep up the support! Tell me what you liked or didn't like in this battle. I'd really appreciate it…


	9. After the Battle

Chapter 9: After the battle…

Hey guys!

I am soooo glad to be back to writing. My parents took away my laptop but I have it back… Thanks to The little detective for the offer to beta my work, but first, I have no idea how to beta, and second, I doubt that it'd be that practical, seeing that I normally update daily. Please message me for more…

Also, I'm kinda confused as to the actual game. I have Righty CAT, Lefty CAT, and Brainy CAT, but no idea how to use them. What do they do?

Anyway, I'll continue the story…

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I touched the fusion pin, hoping that my plan would work. As I felt the energy puck split between me and Shiki, I touched my aqua barrier pin.

"Come on, Mr. Mew!"

"Go get 'em, Piggy!"

Mr. Mew turned giant, just like usual, but this time, it was enveloped in a giant water shield, protecting everyone behind us. Shiki smiled at me, and I smiled back, feeling exactly the same way I felt seeing her float away after the first week. A warm tingle that spread from my chest, enveloping my body. I thought back to the other Players we came across, the only other people I've made close friends with, Sota and Nao. I finally realized what he felt when he said, "I'd play the game a million games for Nao." _I'd do that for you, Shiki._

I shook my head violently, despite the apparent tension of the event. We were saving the lives- erm, afterlives- of the entire group of players and here I was, powerless against my raging hormones!

Ugh. Better find a way out of my tangled knot of emotions before I choke on them…

I felt the fusion wear off, and we gently floated back to the ground, to the oh-so-politely gaping group. Dustin was grumbling a bit.

"If you were gonna do _that,_ why'd we even show up in the first place?"

That's when the semblance of order vanished. We were swamped by a huge amount of the dead, all congratulating us on our 'awesome skills, man!'

I retracted into my emotional shell for the rest of that time, feeling that basic frustration about people in general. I hid my mouth in my hood, only rising to the surface of my consciousness for a quick, 'thanks, man,' or other words that meant nothing.

After it all cooled down, and the others finally decided to leave us alone. When they had cleared out, Shiki turned to me. "That was great, Neku! You were awesome back there!"

I turned away, hiding my blush in my collar. "Yeah, you too. We wouldn't have survived without your fusion."

Shiki cocked her head for a few seconds, probably trying to decipher my blush. "You okay, Neku?"

I allowed myself a brief hidden smile. "Of course. It's not like I just saved the lives of the entire population of this game, right?"

Shiki laughed. "Shouldn't you be used to that by now? I mean, you already saved me, more than I could ever repay you."

I turned back to her in surprise, only to find that she was close. Startlingly close. She leaned up to me and kissed me on the cheek, causing my blush to skyrocket. While I was still trying to shove my emotions back into the deep dark hole I usually stuff them in, she leaned in again, this time planting a kiss to my lips.

I was startled at the sheer intensity that our tongues embraced each other. I slid my arms around her, pulling her towards me in a hug. She clutched my shirt as I angled my head, kissing her deeper.

We pulled away from each other after a while. _Dammit, why do we have to breathe…_

I took a deep breath, surprised at the shakiness of it. I felt as if I had just run a mile, or had just fought a 16 reduction chain battle with my favorite pins. Exhilarated, exhausted, content, hungry, shocked, HUNGRY! The grumble of my stomach shocked me into awakening.

Shiki giggled. "I'm guessing you're hungry."

I didn't know whether to smile or scowl, so I attempted both. "You guessed right."

We walked, hand in hand, to WildKat.

_2 cups of coffee, a salad, and 4 shared pancakes later…_

I stretched, feeling my belly bursting at the seams. "thanks, Mr. H. Haven't had a decent meal in forever.

Sanae Hanekoma grinned. "No problem, phones. Anytime you're hungry, just stop on over."

Shiki stood up. "Neku, can we go shopping…?"

I groaned. "But Shiki…"

"Aww, come on, Neku. Please?" I looked at Shiki's face and bit my tongue, silently berating myself at my stupidity. Her eyes were impossible to deny.

"Fine, but only because you said please." Despite my efforts, a small smile slipped through my defenses.

"Yay!" Shiki jumped in joy, literally. "I'll meet you outside, Neku!" She then proceeded to an area opposite the exit… the bathroom.

I sighed and turned to Mr. H, who was regarding me with a smile. I felt myself getting self-conscious. "What?"

He shrugged. "Even though you're dead, I think that you're living the life right now."

I crossed my arms. "How do you figure that?"

His smile grew wider. "Fighting noise is fun for you, you have almost unlimited cash due to your pins, you have a killer girlfriend, and I think you've grown a fashion sense."

I started. "_What did you say?"_

He gave me an innocent smile. "The fashion sense?"

"No, before that!"

"Well, you could just cash in your pins, right?"

"NO! IN THE FREAKING MIDDLE!!! Shiki and I aren't going out!"

He clasped his hands behind his head, now the image of someone who knows he just won. "Who said anything about Shiki?"

I paled as I realized my slip. He laughed. "Oh, come on. I'm not _that_ stupid. You're a guy. She's a girl. Jeez. You think I'm too blind to see you swapping spit with each other _across the street from my store?_"

The blood rushed back into my face, the white turning to red instantaneously. "We haven't… I never asked… We're not…" I was too embarrassed to speak coherently.

"All right, all right. I get it." Mr. Hanekoma smiled as Shiki walked towards the exit, giving us a curious glance.

"You two run along now, and have fun on your _date._"

He probably enjoyed the long stream of expletives that erupted from my mouth.

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Allright, that's it!


	10. Shopping in Shubuya: an introverts guide

Chapter 10: Shopping around Shibuya: An introvert's guide

Hey, guys!

It's great to finally be back in the writing game. I was only away from my story for a few days, but it felt like forever, probably because of a certain other factor making the days drag on. That's right, folks. It's almost summer break for my school, and it couldn't come early enough. The student admin losers decided to take all of the hardest tests of the year and cram them into the last week of school, so I've got a whole buttload of crap to barrel through before freedom. Anyway, here's today's chapter. Get ready for all of my thoughts about TWEWY's brands, stuffed into Neku's head!

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I was already saying my prayers as I walked into 104. I held my hand out to Wild Boar, a small spark of familiarity in the sea of unknown, lame, and disliked brands. Shiki had other ideas. "Come on, Neku, we've gotta move! The D+B sale won't last long!'

Shiki dragged me along, tugging my hand as if it were a leash. We made our way into D+B 104, walking into a relatively crowded store due to the sale. Shiki picked out and tried on several hats of varying sizes, deciding eventually not to choose any of them. We walked out of the store, the silver-haired clerk's eyes glaring at our retreating faces. I didn't have to use my Player pin to find out what he was thinking.

We walked out of the shop and Shiki sighed, finally seeming to notice my pleading eyes. "All right, Neku. We'll check out Wild Boar."

I smiled and ran over, repeating the age-old pattern. I run off, she chases after me. "Neku!!! Wait up, Jerk!"

I eventually settled on some pins, adding them to my collection with the thought that I'd battle with them later. Shiki grabbed my hand, taking me along to our next destination, Cadoi City.

I sighed, knowing that there was no redemption here. Girly brands through and through.

Shiki, not surprisingly, headed straight to Darling Designs, the Sheep Heavenly shop, with me in tow. I was helpless to resist the insistent tug of Shiki's hand, or (the thought brought a blush to my face) the sight of her in a dress.

Shiki ran through Sheep Heavenly, eyes roving over the various colorful clothing. I simply plastered on my 'relatively-open-minded' expression and went to help Shiki pick out clothes. After what seemed like hours of searching (though it couldn't have been more than 20 minutes), Shiki went into the woman's dressing room, 4 skirts in tow. She emerged, showing me her different outfits.

I tried to get past my teen embarrassment, and offered my sincere opinions. "That one is okay, I guess. You could probably make something better than that."

She eventually settled on a knee high skirt, which I had to admit looked great on her. I paid for it, earning a smile from Shiki.

Walking towards our next destination, I checked out my personal outfit. I was wearing my favorite J of the M gear, my tank top and nylon shorts a better summer choice than my traditional clothes. My headphones, now mostly used for music only, hung on my neck for quick songs and fashion. My CAT deck, a result of Beat getting me into skateboarding, rested inside my backpack. My Wild Boar skate shoes were on my feet, in all of their pseudo-graffiti'ed glory. I nodded inwardly, passing my own coolness test with flying colors. I had enough clothes here, and in the closet back home.

Shiki I now decided to stop at Ramen Don to eat, before turning in for the day. We went in to Ken Doi's famous shout: "HaI! Irrasshai!!" (forgive me for misspelling)

"We'll take one Miso and one Shio ramen, please!"

"Coming right up! Anything for my favorite customer- and his girlfriend!"

He chuckled at our embarrassed blustering denials.

"Kids these days. You're taking her out to Ramen, right?"

"N-no! it's not like that!" Shiki and I were way more embarrassed than we had any right to be.

"All right, All right! 2 orders, coming right up!"

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And that's it! Sorry about the poor length. I lost motivation due to parental reasons. Later!


	11. The Nameless Chapter Spooooooky!

Chapter 11

…Wow….

I'm _really _sorry that I haven't updated in the last couple of days (weeks? _Months!?!_) I lost motivation a while ago due to the fact that my parents found out about my story. It's not like they were _reading _it or anything, but I did get a whole buttload of crap about "Don't put your name on the internet!!! I Googled your full name and THERE IT WAS!" At which point I showed her about all of the other people who have my same name. I decided to go a bit smart-ass, which cost me. SO ANYWAYS LET'S GET DOWN TO THE REAL REASON WE'RE HERE…

P.S.: Expect a whole bunch of filler battles this time around. I'm trying to get back into writing and I'm probably gonna fail at properly bringing this day to a close.

P.S.S: On the off chance that you make it to the end of this chapter without dying of boredom, I prepared a surprise for all of you! I won't tell you, but it has something to do with lemons.

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After we went out of Ramen Don, faces still red from embarrassment, I decided to break the tension a little.

"Hey, Shiki! Wanna fight off that meal?"

Shiki grinned, despite our previous awkwardness. "You know me, I'm always up for a battle. Just don't run away this time."

I rolled my eyes. "_One day. _I was having one off day and you never let me forget it."

Shiki snorted. "But you ran, like, 12 times in that one day."

I had long since stopped listening to her, and was changing pins. I switched everything in my current roster out, settling on a Big Bang/ Big Crunch Combo, a Vulcan uppercut, shockwave, aqua core, and lightning arrester. Then, I turned my attention to the Noise. I netted two in my mind, causing them to float towards us in that eerie way they had.

I felt us getting transported to the battlefield and smiled. I didn't know why, but fighting Noise always had a calming effect on me. It was a great way to unwind, at least.

I almost felt sorry for the noise, poor little frogs forced to take the brunt of my anger.

Then I saw the noise, and smiled. It was on.

The welcome party there seemed pitiful compared to what I had just faced. Approximately 20 pieces of assorted Noise met us with a bang. Sprogs were racing across the mass of Rhinos, Nefastravens, Boomers, and several minks. Booooriiiing…

I immediately set to work, striking them all once with my Nexus Ray. This got rid of a couple, leaving most scurrying around us. 5 Boomers in a row jumped into the air, forcing me to take leave of my assault as I felt Shiki's level one fusion pin on my side. I began to run as I saw the boomers fall down behind me. I grinned… and fell as one of the Kangaroos slammed into me from above, knocking me to the ground.

Instantly, I was swarmed by sprogs, all intent of leeching off of me. Ravens plucked at my skin, hoping to get some lucky shots in. I gasped. I couldn't take much more of this…

I closed my eyes and used my shockwave psych to instantly disintegrate all of the sprogs crawling over me. I then used my Vulcan Uppercut to leap above the throng of Noise, clipping some Boomers in the chest as I went. I grabbed onto a Raven, which began to flutter in panic, flapping frantically and propelling us both upwards. I quickly touched my aqua core psyche, spraying water up into the air. The Noise were becoming sprinkled in a nice shower as I felt the pin on my belt transform. _Level two…_

I looked down to see a group of particularly pissed off Noise, dripping wet and standing in a shallow pool of water. I laughed at their stupidity and touched my lightning arrester psych. I spread my fingers out and thunder crackled from it, leaving my fingertips and traveling towards the puddle.

_ZAP!!!!_

The Noise were instantly disintegrated, and the smell of barbeque was in the air. I used shockwave to end the life of the Raven I was riding on and leaped to the ground to take on the rest.

No sooner than I had landed then I felt a sharp pain in my back. I stumbled and saw a Raven making off with all my pins! I swore in frustration, but couldn't do anything.

"I got it, Neku!"

Mr. Mew leaped into the air and clawed at the Raven. It was actually a bit frightening to see Mr. Mew at full intensity. He? She? It? Grabbed on to the Raven's neck and climbed on to it's back. It then began whaling away at the back of its head until the raven disappeared in a blast of static.

"Nice one, Shiki!" I grinned at the new Level 3 weight on my side.

Shiki smiled wanly. "Yeah, I'm fighting too, you know."

I blushed. "Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away."

Before she could respond, we were whisked into our next reduction.

We were greeted by a force of noise so vast that it was hard to comprehend.

Ravens littered the skies en masse, maybe over 50 in all. Boomers lay in wait, hoping for quick shots. Shrew eyes poked out of holes, popping out of the ground in huge numbers. 40 frogs stood in a phalanx, with 10 times their numbers in sprogs, lying behind them. Rhinos were everywhere, a huge amount that-

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes and touched the fusion pin.

I think you can guess for yourself what happened next.

_2 hours later, sunset…_

I yawned, worn out after a long day of shopping and kicking ass.

Shiki stretched her arms and said, "Well, that was fun."

I decided to go with the 'exasperated' mood again. "If you like shopping your brains out."

She giggled. "Oh, come on. I know you thought it was fun."

She was right, of course, but I wasn't about to tell her that. "And what makes you think that?"

Then she did something that I didn't expect. She stepped right up to me, smiling. "Because I know you, Neku." She whispered.

She closed her eyes and I did too. We leaned in…

"Owwwwww!"

I rubbed my head, breaking out of our would-be embrace. "What the hell?"

Sitting on the ground, slightly bruised from whacking my skull at supersonic speeds, was a bright yellow lemon.

"Life, why do you hate me?" Shiki began to laugh at my comment, and wouldn't stop for a long, long time.

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And there it is, folks!

I have to say, I missed my mediocre story for the past couple of days. It seems like a part of me has been filled in again. I'm not making this up either. My low-stomach, high-groin area has been feeling pretty full. Oh, never mind. I just have to go to the bathroom.

So sorry for the randomness in general in this chapter. I've been pretty stressed out lately and writing random crap is my key for that.

See ya later!

P.S.: I hope you enjoyed the lemony surprise!


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